How to Cite a Website
Your bibliography
0 sourcesHow to cite a website means recording who published a web page, when it appeared, its title, the site it lives on, and its URL, then arranging those parts to fit APA, MLA, or Chicago. This free tool builds that reference and the matching in-text citation for you.
How do I cite a website with this generator?
Paste the page’s URL or type its title into the generator above, choose APA, MLA, or Chicago, and the tool retrieves the author, publication date, site name, and link, then outputs a formatted reference plus the matching in-text citation you can copy straight into your paper.
- Select your style: APA 7, MLA 9, or Chicago 18/18.
- Enter the page URL (or search by title) and let the tool fetch the metadata.
- Check each field against the live page, especially author and date.
- Copy the reference into your bibliography and the in-text citation into your text.
What counts as “a website” for citation?
A website citation covers a standalone web page whose content is not better described as another source type. If the page is a news story, journal article, blog post, government PDF report, or social-media post, a more specific template usually applies and captures details a generic web-page entry would miss.
| If the page is really a… | Use this instead |
|---|---|
| News article on a news site | News / online newspaper template |
| Scholarly article with a DOI | Journal article template |
| Dated post on a personal or org blog | Blog-post template |
| PDF report from an agency | Report template |
| General informational page with no better match | Web-page on a website (this guide) |
How do I cite a website in-text?
In-text, you point readers to the reference-list entry using the author and date. APA uses author and year, such as (World Health Organization, 2018). MLA uses the author’s surname alone, since most web pages have no page numbers. Chicago uses either a numbered footnote or an author-date parenthetical.
- APA 7:
(Mantel, 2025)parenthetical, or narrative “Mantel (2025) explains…”. - MLA 9:
(Mantel). With no author, use a shortened title in quotation marks:("Top 10 Causes"). - Chicago (notes): a superscript number keyed to a footnote. Chicago author-date instead reads
(World Health Organization 2018).
What goes in the full reference entry?
A complete website reference lists five parts in a fixed order: author or organization, publication or revision date, the page title, the name of the hosting site, and the URL. When the author and the site name are identical, all three major styles let you state that name only once and drop the duplicate.
- Author — surname then initials; an organization is written out in full.
- Date — year, then month and day of publication or last update, in parentheses.
- Page title — italicized, sentence case, ending in a period.
- Site name — the site hosting the page; omitted if it equals the author.
- URL — the direct link, with no period after it.
The same source formats differently in each style. Below is one real page — the World Health Organization’s fact sheet — rendered three ways. Because the WHO is both author and publisher, the site name is not repeated.
APA 7World Health Organization. (2018, May 24). The top 10 causes of death. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death
MLA 9“The Top 10 Causes of Death.” World Health Organization, 24 May 2018, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death.
Chicago 18World Health Organization. “The Top 10 Causes of Death.” May 24, 2018. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death.
| Style | Reference pattern | Title treatment |
|---|---|---|
| APA 7 | Author. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. URL | Page title italic; site name roman |
| MLA 9 | Author. “Title of Page.” Site Name, Day Month Year, URL. | Page title in quotes; site name italic |
| Chicago 18 | Author. “Title of Page.” Site Name. Date. URL. | Page title in quotes; site roman (italic only if it has a print counterpart) |
What if there is no author or no date?
Web pages often lack a named author or a clear date, so every style has a fallback. When no author exists, the page title moves into the author position. When no date exists, APA prints (n.d.) for “no date,” while MLA and Chicago fall back on the date you accessed the page.
| Missing element | APA 7 | MLA 9 & Chicago 18 |
|---|---|---|
| No author | Start the entry with the page title, then the date. | Start with the page title (MLA) or the site owner (Chicago). |
| No date | Use (n.d.) in the date slot. |
Give the access date: “Accessed 18 July 2026” / “accessed July 18, 2026.” |
| Changing content | Add a retrieval date before the URL only for unarchived, updating pages. | Include the access date, which is always advisable online. |
How accurate is an auto-generated website citation?
Automated tools get the structure right but depend on the metadata a site publishes, which is frequently incomplete or wrong. Treat every generated website citation as a strong draft, not a final answer, and verify the four fields sites most often mislabel: author, publication date, page title, and site name.
- Sites sometimes list a content-management system or tagline as the “author” — replace it with the real person or organization.
- A visible “last updated” stamp can differ from the original publication date; APA prefers the date the specific content was posted or revised.
- Long URLs with tracking parameters should be trimmed to the clean, direct link.
- When the page is really an article, report, or post, switch to that source type for a fuller entry.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to include the URL when citing a website?
Yes. APA, MLA, and Chicago all require the URL for a web source so readers can locate it. Give the direct link to the page, remove tracking parameters, and add no period after the URL in APA (a period does close the MLA and Chicago entries).
How do I cite a website with no author?
Move the page title into the author position. In APA the entry becomes “Title of page. (Year). Site Name. URL,” and in-text you cite a short title. MLA begins the works-cited entry with the page title in quotation marks, and the in-text citation uses that shortened title.
How do I cite a website with no date?
APA uses (n.d.), which stands for “no date,” in place of the year. MLA and Chicago instead rely on the date you accessed the page, written as “Accessed 18 July 2026” in MLA or “accessed July 18, 2026” in Chicago, placed at the end of the entry.
Do I need an access or retrieval date for a website?
APA requires a retrieval date only for content designed to change without being archived, such as a wiki or live feed; stable pages need none. MLA recommends an access date, especially when no publication date is shown. Chicago requires one when no publication or revision date exists.
How do I cite an entire website versus a single page?
To mention a whole site in general, APA lets you name it in your text with the URL in parentheses and no reference entry. A specific page needs a full reference. MLA cites an entire site by starting the entry with the site’s italicized title as the container.
Should the website title be italicized?
It depends on the element and the style. In APA the page title is italicized and the site name is roman. MLA reverses this: the page title sits in quotation marks and the site name is italicized. Chicago puts the page title in quotes and keeps the site name in roman unless it has a print counterpart.
Related tools & guides
Build a full bibliography with our APA citation generator, format works-cited entries in the MLA citation generator, or produce footnotes with the Chicago citation generator. New to referencing? Start with what is a citation? to understand why every website you use belongs in your reference list.